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Problems of human capital development

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- The first one relates to the rapidly growing population in many developing countries. In most of these
countries, the population growth rates exceed by 2 per cent per annum, suggesting that a large proportion of the population is below the working age, and therefore non-productive. This means that a greater percentage of the national resources need to be invested in their education.
- The second related problem borders on the issue of mounting unemployment.
- Harbinson (1974) has even noted that the rate of increase in the labour force, exceed the rate of increase in population growth. This situation creates problems for the human resource development planner, who should be concerned with what to do with the surplus labour, This is also a major source of
unemployment in many developing countries.
- The next problem relates to the inability of human resource development planners to measure the actual
contribution of human capital to national development. It is assumed that education is a major component
of human capital. But you may have realized from personal experience that the progress an individual makes in a given occupation does not necessarily depend on education and qualification, but on such other factors as: natural ability, drive, initiative, social background and the policy of the organization in which he may be employed. Indeed many people with a low level of education do succeed, where ability and skill are not directly acquired through formal education.
- A final problem area in human capital development is incentives. It is one thing to estimate the needs for manpower of various qualifications, but quite another to induce persons to prepare for, and engage in occupations which are most vital for national growth. For example, the rewards of some categories of personnel and technicians are far from sufficient to attract the numbers needed: the pay of teachers is often inadequate, and the earnings of scientists and engineers, in comparison with administrative officers in government circles, are too low.

raphael answered the question on August 4, 2021 at 07:09

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Problems of human capital development

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